I've had some ground leased there for a couple of years now and have not kept up with any trends or rumors. Anybody got any scuttlebutt?
Thanks,
Zach
You may be just outside or on the edge of a developing Woodford play, so I wouldn't count on it.
On the other hand, Marathon is doing a Granite Wash play in 2N-8W, 2N-7W and it may almost reach to 1N 6W, so wait and see what is coming…..
There may also be a Viola play in the general area. It is just starting, so keep your ears open.
Continental has the whole area leased via Bearcat. Does that indicate anything??? They are still actively snapping up rights in that area.
Continental. Vitruvian and Marathon are probably all in there. I would think OCC hearing will start within a few months working to the west. Marathon and Continental already have pooling hearings in 25, 26, 35, 36-1N-6W. They have horizontal wells planned. You are a little further west by a couple of miles. It is heating up.
Thank you, M. Barnes, that is valuable information.
Zach
That's extremely interesting re: what you said about Marathon in the NW part of the county.
M Barnes said:
You may be just outside or on the edge of a developing Woodford play, so I wouldn't count on it.
On the other hand, Marathon is doing a Granite Wash play in 2N-8W, 2N-7W and it may almost reach to 1N 6W, so wait and see what is coming…..
There may also be a Viola play in the general area. It is just starting, so keep your ears open.
M Barnes
Are you talking about the Hoxbar?
Hoxbar is a little younger, but it could be one of the plays. Granite Wash is a generic term for several sets of sands. Marathon is redrilling some older fields with horizontal wells to see what they can pick up. Their last investor presentation was saying that the first Granite Wash well was on line. They are also playing the Woodford farther east in the SCOOP area. Several concurrent plays being targeted.
Many thanks for the replies. My interests is small, only 3.3 acres and I have considered selling them.
Zach
Same question, Section 15 1N 6W. Lots of leases - any chance of development? My current least with CLR via Bearcat expires in 15 months.
Kenneth-I think the chance of drilling is good. They don't lease like that without a plan.
Zachary- wouldn't sell if I were you. Small acres can make some reasonable money with long term production. Hang in there a little while and see what develops. The offers will go up if there is production. They will be low right now. Time is most likely your friend.
My family owns rights in 7 1N 4W and Continental has been actively leasing in the last few months. I live out of state and don't know much about the area. Does anyone have any information on the likelihood of drilling?
Thanks,
Lora
The likelihood of drilling in 7-1N-4W is very good. It is along the condensate/oil line of the Woodford and drilling is moving that direction. They are already drilling two sections to the south, so I expect they will fill in the gap when they get it leased up enough. Marathon is also leasing that section.
Thanks for the response. I tried viewing the property using Google Earth. If I am looking at the correct area, it looks like there is huge farm there but I also see a number of wells to the West and South. If the surface owner doesn't own the mineral rights, how does the oil company negotiate with the surface owner to drill on their property?
The mineral rights are the dominant estate over the surface rights. The oil company pays the surface owner a certain amount of damage money for the pad area, but the surface owner cannot stop the drilling. Usually they try to reach a compromise about the best place to put the pad so it stays away from buildings and ponds, etc.
Is there a typical size for a spacing order? Is a pooling order the same thing? My vast pool of UNknowledge in these matters defies definable space.
Zach
For horizontal wells, the spacing is usually 640 due to the long boreholes. Also for deep gas vertical wells. For regular conventional oil vertical wells, the spacing varies according to depth. Deeper ones are larger at up to 160, but usually 80 down to 5 if very, very shallow. Typical is 80.
Pooling is completely different. Pooling happens when an operator cannot get all parties owning acreage in a spacing unit to agree to lease. In order to keep business moving along, they will petition the Corporation Commission to "Pool" the remaining mineral owners. It forces them to be a part of the process. Usually, the remaining owners are given two-four options of bonus and royalty rates. They must choose one of the options within 20 calendar days. If they cannot be located, the highest bonus and lowest royalty option will be chosen for them and put into a special fund and held for three years. Then turned over to the unclaimed funds at the state. Everyone else makes their election and notifies the operator. The operator must drill within 180 days or 365 days depending upon the order. The reservoir zones for the pooling are set by the commission. If I know it will be a horizontal well (which is from the spacing order), then I will pick the lowest bonus and the highest royalty because in the long run, I will probably make a whole lot more money that way. If it is for a vertical well, then I have other strategies. But I never take less than 3/16 royalty. Does that help?
Very much! Thank you for your detailed description of something that might as well have been written in Chinese before. I sincerely appreciate it.
Zach
If you want a really good little book to explain things, it is called Look Before You Lease and can be found on the NARO website.
They have some other excellent materials.
You can also go to the Garvin County forum and right under the little map is a comment string on Links to Help Oklahoma Mineral Owners. It will get you started with some good collections.
Thanks again.
Zach